Furnace grate mechanism



April 1942- M'. R. OLSEN 2 2,280,926

FURNACE GRATE MECHANISM Filed March 27, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I P 1942- M. R. OLSEN FURNACE GRATE MECHANISM 2 Sheet -Sheet 2 Filed March 27. 1959 fzzz/ezzz'if 77/572 [519.72,

Patented. Apr. 28, 1942 FURNACE GRATE MECHANISM Marvin R. Olsen, Glen Ellyn, 111., assignor to Sears, Roebuck and 00., Chicago, 111., a corporation of New York Application March 27, 1939, Serial No. 264,357

6 Claims.

My invention relates to furnaces for heating dwellings and other buildings, and has to do particularly with grate control mechanisms.

It has been customary to provide a combination furnace grate for shaking thejbed of fuel disposed thereon and also for dumping said fuel into the ash pit. However, in the past, so far as I am aware, it has usually been necessary to employ different controls for these two operations. Thus, according to the usual practice, a lever is provided for moving the grate in its own plane, resulting in a shaking or sifting action upon the bed of fuel, while another control element, such as a rotary crank, is employed to rotate the grate, or parts thereof, about a horizontal axis, which results in the dropping or dumping of the fuel into the, ash pit. Theuse of such a plurality of controls is inconvenient, cumbersome, and expensive to fabricate.

An object of my invention is to provide in a furnace a combination dumping and shaking grate with a single control means which may be used alternatively, by means of a simple adjustment, for either purpose, without necessity of opening the front of the furnace for insertion of a tool as in the past, thus eliminating passage of ash dust from the furnace.

Another object is to provide a mechanism of the type referred to, which is simple and economical in construction, readily accessible for f become apparent as the description proceeds.

Referring now to the drawings forming a part of this specification and illustrating certain preferred embodiments of my invention:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a furnace embodying my invention;

Fig. 5 is a plan view on a reduced scale from Figs. 2-4 showing more or less diagrammatically the grateas a whole and its supporting means;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view takensubstantially along the line 6-6 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is a front elevational view, partly in section, showing the manipulating mechanism and its connections.

Numeral l indicates a furnaceof any suitable type in connection with which my invention may be employed. Although I have illustrated a standard hot air furnace, it will be understood my invention is applicable to various other types of heating apparatus. Disposed within the furnace It is a combination dumping and shaking grate of standard or other suitable design, comprising a ring grate l2 and a two-part dump grate l5. The ringgrate is, as the term implies, an annular member having radial teeth extending from both its outer and inner peripheries. The ring grate I2 is mounted to rotate about its own center on rollers IS, the latter being seated in an annular frame ll. Arms 20 extending outwardly from the frame I! are seated in brackets 2| arranged on the inner wall of the furnace.

The dump grate I 5, in the embodiment shown,

comprises a pair of substantially similar dished semi-circular parts [a and lfib. Integral with the parts a and I5?) is a pair of parallel pintles 23, 23, which are rotatably journaled in bearing portions 25, 25, formed in the annular frame ll. Axially aligned with the pintles 23, 23 is a pair of pintles 26 and 21, which are journaled in separable bearing members so. The members 30 comprise a pair of similarparts detachably secured together as by bolts and nuts 32, the upper portion of which bearing member may be removed when it is desired to replace or repair a Fig.2 is a fragmentary planview on an enlarged scale of a portion of the combination grate and operating mechanism taken substantially along the line 22 of .Fig; 1, certain parts being shown in section;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, with certain parts in section;

Fig. 4 is a similar view taken substantially along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

portion of the grate mechanism.

Integral with the ring grate I 2 is an apertured car 33. through which extends a hook portion 34 of a shake rod 35. Attached to the pintles 26 and 21 are intermeshing segmental spur gears and the gear 40 being apertured to engage a hook portion 42 of a dump rod 43, The rod 43 at its other extremity has an eye 45 rotatably engaging a hooked end 46 of a bell crank lever having arms 4'! and 41, said lever being supported at its vertex by means of a stud 48 carried by a supporting ear 50, which in turn is mounted on the grate frame. The bell crank lever arm said rod having a restricted portion 53which is engaged by a hook on the end of the arm 41. The

rod 52 is supported at one end by means of a bracket 54 secured to the inner wall of the furnace It. At its opposite end the lever 52 is provided with a U-shaped portion '56 which extends in opposite relation to the U-shapedportion 38 of the rod 35.

Lever 60 is secured to the floor or other support adjacent the base of the furnace, extending upwardly, and being so mounted at its lower extremity that it is capable of rotation about said extremity as an axis, toward and away from the furnace, and is also mounted loosely enough to be capable of slight lateral movement in a plane transverse to said axis.

The operation of the improved device just described is substantially as follows: v

When it is desired to shake the furnace, the

lever 66 is moved into a position as shown in full lines in Fig. 2 and Fig. 7 so that it is embraced by the hook portion 33 of rod 35. When in this position, it will be seen that rotation of lever 6!] toward and away from the furnace results only in movement of the ring grate E2 in its horizontal plane, causing only sufficient agitation to shake the furnace in the usual manner.

When, however, it is desired to dump the grate of all ash or other material disposed thereon. the lever at is moved to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 and Fig. 7, where'it will be embraced by the hook portion 55 of the dump rod 52. Then in this position, it will be seen that rotation of the lever til about its axis will result in reciprocation of the rod 52, thus rotating the bell crank lever ll-M and translation of the link 43, which in turn will actuate the gear segments 4t-48', rotating the segments of the dump grate i501, and i513.

It will be apparent, therefore, that by a slight shifting adjustment of the manipulating member 60, the shaking or dumping mechanism may be operated alternatively. Also, by adjusting lever 6!! in an intermediate position where it will engage both hooks 38 and 56, it may be used to dump and shake simultaneously, thus adding to the efficiency of the dumping operation.

Various modifications may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention and, hence, I do not wish to be restricted to the specific form shown or'uses mentioned, except to the extent indicated in the appended claims, which are to be interpreted as broadly as the state of the art will permit.

I claim:

1. In combination with a furnace, a grate mounted for rotation in a horizontal plane for shaking the fuel bed and. for rotation on a horizontal axis for dumping said bed, means for shaking said grate and means for dumping said grate, said shaking and dumping means each including an element extending outwardly of the furnace, said elements being in closely spaced horizontal relation, a coupling device on each of said elements, and a lever pivotally mounted outside of said furnace between said elements and movable only toward and away from said furnace and transversely of said first-mentioned movement into engagement with one or both of said coupling devices, whereby said lever is operable to actuate either or both of said shaking and dumping means.

2. In combination with a furnace, a grate mounted for rotation in a horizontal plane for shaking the fuel bed and for rotation on a horizontal axis for dumping said bed, means for shaking said grate and means for dumping said grate, said shaking and dumping means each including a rod extending outwardly of the furnace, said rods being in closely spaced horizontal relation, a hook at the end of each of said rods, and a lever pivotally mounted outside of said furnace between said rods and movable only toward and away from said furnace and transversely of said first-mentioned movement into engagement with one or both of said hooks,'whereby said lever is operable to actuate either or both of said shaking and dumping means.

3. In combination with a furnace, a grate mounted for rotation in its own plane for shaking the fuel bed and for rotation out of said plane for dumping said bed, means for shaking and means for dumping said grate, a lever pivotally mounted outside of said furnace for substantial movement only toward and away from said furnace and fixed against substantial translation, and means alternatively connecting said lever with either said shaking or dumping means, both said shaking and dumping means being mounted for translation by movement of the lever toward and away from the furnace.

4. In combination with a furnace, a grate mounted for rotation in its own plane for shaking the fuel bed and for rotation out of said plane for dumping saidbed, means for shaking and means for dumping said grate, a lever pivotally mounted outside of said furnace for substantial inovemently'only toward and away from said furnace and fixed against substantial translation, and means for connecting said lever with either or both of said shaking or dumping means, both said shaking and dumping means being mounted for translation by movement of the lever toward and away from the furnace.

5. A grate for a furnace comprising a dump portion and a shake portion, said dump portion being oscillatable from a fuel supporting position to a fuel dumping position and said shake portion being oscillatable in a continuously fuel supporting position, an operating lever, a link connecting said lever and shake portions, links releasably connecting said dump portion and said lever, and means to utilize a plurality of selectively usable axes for the lever, one of said axes adapting the lever to be connected to the link for the shake portion only and the other adapting the lever to be connected to the links for both the shake and dump portions of the grate.

6. A grate for a furnace comprising a dump portion and a shake portion, said dump portion being oscillatable from a fuel supporting position to a fuel dumping position and said shake portion being oscillatable in a continuously fuel supporting position, an operating lever, a link connecting said lever and shake portions, links releasably connecting said dump portion and said lever, and means to utilize a plurality of selectively usable axes for the lever, one of said axes adapting the lever to be connected to the link for the shake portion only, another of said axes adapting the lever to be connected to the linkage for the dump portion, and another axis adapting the lever to be connected to the links for both the shake and dump portions of the grate.

MARVIN R. OLSEN. 

